PHILADELPHIA — Facing heated community opposition, the Central Bucks School District on Tuesday approved a contentious library policy that takes aim at challenging books in schools with "sexualized content" — guidelines the district's superintendent says ensure students are reading "age-appropriate material," but that the Pennsylvania Library Association calls one of the most restrictive in schools across the state.
In a 6-3 vote, following a rally and more than an hour of public comment — most of which was vehemently opposing the policy — and questions by some board members about its origins, the Republican-dominated board voted to advance the policy that's raised alarm among civil rights groups.
Members Tabitha Dell'Angelo, Karen Smith, and Miriam Mahmud voted against approving the policy, insisting community resistance should cause the board to table its vote, and questioning specifics of the policy — including who wrote it, and asking for more detail about the process in which a superintendent-appointed committee will weigh in on literature to be selected or removed from school shelves.
